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Registry Backup and Restore
You need periodically backup you registry (preferably daily; those are small
backups). There are several method to do this:
- Backup using scanreg. This is the easiest one and
it can be automated using scripts and scheduler.
- Backup using Norton Ghost (this will backup the whole partition, but
restore can be of selected files only (you need to do in DOS mode)
- You can use system snapshot
Scanreg does not come with windows
2000 but free Windows
2000 Resource Kit Tools has several useful registry related utilities
including two specifically designed for backup and restore
- REG: This tool
enables you to add, change, delete, search, backup, restore, and perform other
operations on registry entries from the command prompt or a batch file. It can
be used on both local and remote computers. Note: This version of REG
is in fact version 1.10 from the NT4 Resource Kit. It works with Windows 2000
but is not the version 2 that comes with the 2000 Reskit and is very much
updated and with differing syntax to version 1.10, nor is it the version 3
that comes bundled with Windows XP (Thanks Pete!)
-
REGBack:
Registry Backup - Registry Backup (RegBack) is a tool for backing up the Windows
Registry to files without use of a tape drive. RegBack allows you to back up
Registry hives while the system is running and has the hive files open.
-
REGFind:
RegFind is a command-line tool with which you can search the Windows 2000 registry
for arbitrary data, key names, or value names and optionally replace any of
these with new values.
-
REGINI:
Registry Change by Script - This tool uses character-based batch files to add
keys to the Windows 2000 registry by specifying a registry script.
-
REGRest:
Registry Restoration - Registry Restoration (RegRest) restores Registry hive
files from backups created by RegBack.
-
Dureg: Registry Size Estimator - Shows how much data is stored in
the registry, or in any registry subtree, key, or subkey.
Windows 98 and Windows 2003 there is a special
utility: Windows Registry Checker (scanreg.exe).
It can be back ported from Windows 2003 to windows XP, but not to Windows 2000. It creates a backup of system files and registry configuration information
(including user account information, protocol bindings, software program settings,
and user preferences) BTW "The Last Known Good Configuration" is the same
thing as scanreg /fix. It restores the previous
registry. See also How to back up,
edit, and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
Files that Windows Registry Checker backs up include:
- System.dat
- User.dat
- System.ini
- Win.ini.
You need to customize the configuration file C:\Windows\Scanreg.ini
to benefit from this capability. The Scanreg.ini file contains the entries that
determine how the Registry Checker tool makes backup copies of your registry. Edit
the x values of the settings below.
- Backup=x, a value of 1 causes a backup copy of your registry
to be made the first time you start your computer
on any given day (determined by the system clock). A value of 0 disables
the backing up of the registry.
- Optimise=x, a value of 1 automatically optimizes your current
registry if it contains 500KB+ of unused space. A value of 0 does not automatically
optimize your current registry by removing unused space.
- MaxBackupCopies=x, use this value to set the maximum amount of registry
backups, e.g. a value of 5 saves the last 5 registry backups in the Windows\Sysbckup
folder. This value can be between 0 and 99.
NOTE: When you restore a registry backup using Registry Checker for MS-
DOS (scanreg), only the five earliest backups are displayed.
- BackupDirectory=x, by default this entry does not contain a value,
and registry backups are automatically saved in the
Windows\Sysbckup folder. If for some reason
you wish to change where the backup is stored then use this to do so. E.g. if
you want to change it to you D:\Backup directory
then you would have BackupDirectory=D:\Backup.
There are several useful articles about using Scanreg.exe or Scanregw.exe:
How to backup the Windows XP
Registry Method 1: Using System Restore
One way to backup the registry is to
create a System Restore snapshot. System Restore returns your computer
to a previous snapshot without losing recent personal information, such
as documents, history lists, favorites, or e-mail. It monitors the computer
and many applications for changes and creates restore points. You restore
these snapshots when your configuration isn't working. This method is
unreliable in case you want to rollback the registry changes made a
longtime ago, in which case the System Restore might have purged that
particular restore point - due to space constraints or due to a recent
system restore point or even a Restore point corruption. Please remember,
System Restore points get deleted for many reasons, making it unreliable,
especially in the long run.
For more help, see :
Creating
a System Restore point and
Using
System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur
Copyright © 1996-2008 by Dr. Nikolai Bezroukov.
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Last modified:
June 05, 2008